


A New Beginning

by Jane_Doe_01



Series: After the End [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: After the war with the Marley, F/M, Sex, Smut, Three Years Later, levihan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-24 01:57:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12002535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jane_Doe_01/pseuds/Jane_Doe_01
Summary: The war has been over and Levi Ackerman feels as though he's worthless without Erwin and all the other Survey Corps soldiers that are nothing but a distant memory. However, an unexpected interaction with an old shitty comrade is his only hope of changing that.Hanji on the other hand, has moved on to greater things in her life. With the titans gone, she finds a new interest in finding creatures that never existed on Paradis Island.A series of one shots that eventually lead up to a story as a whole (I no longer trust myself with writing a fully ongoing story here and then abandoning it).





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANJI ZOE!!!!

It's October 14th, one of the most depressing days in Levi's life. 

It's Erwin Smith's birthday.

Almost three years have passed since the Survey Corps' fearless commander had led himself and almost another hundred soldiers to their deaths while fighting the Ape Titan. Levi barely knew much about the man's past, but he knew for sure that the stubborn and charming blond idiot was willing to make any sacrifice possible for humanity.

And he did.

That gloriously damn bastard sacrificed the lives of so many soldiers along with his own.

"Tch," the raven haired man says raking his fingers through his hair. The sun sets on the other side of a mountainous terrain, the vibrant ombré of crimson reds and blood oranges violently clashing together to form a somber and yet peaceful aura. The ombré slowly recedes due to the overtaking charcoal sky. The day is over, like Erwin Smith's life and long lived reputation in the Survey Corps. No one remembers him or even knows who he was, and the people in this new world think of him as a man to fear and hate.

Why? All because he was an Eldian.

They all hate Levi too, just because he's an Eldian.

The short man huffs before continuing his way down the small trail surrounded by a dense red and orange forest. Fall is here, and Paris cannot look more beautiful with its own view of  dense mountains, colorful forests, and small hiking trails that give glimpses of both along with a view of the Eiffel Tower itself. 

"Shit," Levi mutters. It's eight and the sunset should be over soon. As much as he would love to stick around and reminisce over his former comrade and brother who had fallen, he had an unfinished grocery list to check off. Maybe he should just head over to the Mini Mart near the trail's end. At least then he won't have to worry about fresh fruits and vegetables  until next week.

He looks up at the sky one more time, the colorful ombré of colors almost dead due to the depressing shade of gunmetal grey. "Happy Birthday," the man somberly states, "you shitty bastard."

* * *

Apples, there's usually a wide selection of colors to choose from at the Mini Mart. Levi doesn't really care about what type if apple it is.

As long as it's not red.

Levi hates the color red. It holds too many broken memories of too many broken people, and causes him to break down too. His mind doesn't work right when it spots the ruddy shade.

"Green," the ravenette murmurs. He slowly rips out the small plastic produce bag near the wooden carton of apples, and one by one, he places the green apples inside. He lacks energy, his actions all being dictated by the slow movement of his limbs. Depression is not the only thing he was diagnosed with after that dreaded war. His insomnia grew worse, the raven haired man sleeping two to three hours every five of six days instead of every night like it use to be.

Funny. He fought the war to make sure that after it was over, he'd be able to sleep peacefully every night. The exact opposite though, is what's coming true.

"I don't understand French," a voice says from the checkout counter nearby. It carries a deep timbre that's neither masculine nor feminine, but a fine mix of both. It reminds him of a voice that he'd gotten use to hearing yammer all day long, a voice that carries both the enthusiasm and rage of a shitty mad scientist he knew back—

"The hell?!" Levi yells looking up almost immediately. _Shit._ He hadn't intended for it to come out that loudly. Now everyone in the damn grocery store was either staring at him in confusion or glaring based on whether or not they understood English. 

The person at the checkout counter turns around and faces him. She's in as much shock as he is, and how could she not be? After three years of no contact and not a single conversation, they're standing right in front of each other.

"Levi," she whispers his name and it's barely audible. Her cracked lips inch upwards into one of those smiles she use to give everyone before Erwin died and before she became commander. Her eyes— _eye_  beams as she instantaneously forgets the basket of groceries at the counter along with the angry howling of the cashier. The brunette practically runs up to him and wraps him in an asphyxiating hug. "I missed you," she continues, "it's so nice to finally see a familiar face in this weird new world."

"Fuck this," he mutters before enveloping his arms around her tall and lanky figure. The familiar warmth of her body pressed against his was by far the most comfortable thing he'd experienced in a while. And his mind drifts back. This is exactly how they embraced each other after that bloody goddamn war was over. 

The bespectacled woman pulls away from him while still keeping her hands firmly placed on his shoulders. "How are you?" she asks perkily. "No wait," she continues, "where do you live? Sorry, that was a weird question to ask. What are you doing here? How are you? No wait, I already asked tha—"

"Ssh," the ravenette silences her. "I get it, you're excited." He pulls her into another hug and she squeals animatedly before muffling her face in his shirt. It smelled like him, like his own signature perfume that no one else had. God, if only they knew on the island that cellphones were a thing. At least then they could've kept touch.

"Do you know where the kids are?" she asks. "Eren or Mikasa? What about Armin cookie? He's such a gosh darn cinnamon roll. And what about Sasha or Connie? Tell them that I have a new baked potato recipe that they'll love. And how can I forget Jean that horseface that has—"

"Chill," Levi says brushing away an astray strand of hair. Hanji flushes a deep ruddy color sporting her naturally cinnamon skin.

"Sorry," she mutters biting on her bottom lip. "It's just that I've spent so much time around people I didn't know, that it feels really good to see my best friend again."

"And who's that?" he asks teasingly.

"You of cou—" she pauses noticing the smug look on his face. "Oh! I get it!"

* * *

The two old friends spend the rest of the time leisurely talking, well Levi does at least. Hanji keeps going on and on about how she went to America after the war ended and decided to become a veterinarian since there were so many animals out there that fascinated her with their biology. She also revealed that she'd found a passion for zoology and had a thing for taking pictures of local animals and wildlife.

"I have a camera at my hotel room," she remarks. "Maybe I can show you sometime."

"Hotel room?" he asks. His heart starts beating rapidly and he starts clenching his hand into a fist. "You're not staying here permanently?" The raven haired man grits his teeth angrily. "I want you to stay," is what he wants to tell her followed by, "I need someone to talk to."

"No," she answers. "I _am_ staying here permanently. The hotel room though, _that's_  temporary. It's just just to help accommodate me until I can find a better place to stay." The brunette bites her bottom lip before looking at him expectantly. "Do you know any available studios or apartments available for lease?"

"Not now," he replies. "You could try looking into one of the apartments in my neighborhood. The rent's pretty cheap and the place is pretty clean and well organized."

"Clean enough to match up to your standards?" she asks wiggling her eyebrows up and down. _"Clean freak,"_ she stretches the nickname out in a taunting way before letting out a deep chuckle.

 _"Shitty glasses,"_ he retorts in the same teasing tone. "How much are you paying to stay at that hotel?"

"Twenty bucks a night," she answers his question slightly confused. "Why?"

"You're wasting a shitload of money," he says. The bespectacled woman bites down on her bottom lip in an effort to stifle her laugh, but fails _epically_. Everyone present in the parking lot gives her a glare which doesn't seem to have any effect on the jovial woman. 

She snorts before finally coming to a stop. "I'm sorry," she says still recovering from her fit of laughter. "I just really missed your shit jokes and that was a really good one."

The ravenette rolls his eyes. "Yeah," he says sarcastically. "And I really missed your endless titan rants. Anyways," he continues, "what I was trying to say is that you can stay over at my place until you find yourself a more…permanent setting."

"Oh no," Hanji shakes her head. The offer sounded tempting, getting the opportunity to stay with Levi and reconnect with him over what the past three years of her looked like. Plus, she wanted him to fill her up with what she'd missed in his life too. "I couldn't possibly do that. Besides, I'm messy and you'd get sick of me pretty soon."

"I knew you for six years in a row," he states. "Just stay over at my place." Hanji opens her mouth to protest but is immediately shut up by him. "I insist," he says finally.

The brunette huffs in defeat. "Alright," she continues, "but you're gonna have to handle me all through tonight. I'm gonna be more talkative than I was all through all those six years put together."

Levi smiles. 

For the first time in forever, it seems like things are finally starting to go his way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday Hanji Zoe!!!!

The home of Levi Ackerman is a rather small condominium decorated without the least bit of an imagination. The hardwood floors are an average shade of coffee and the linoleum is just the boring frosting on the boring cupcake. And the walls, how could Hanji forget the walls? They're a shade of grey so monotonous that it hurts her eyes to look at them for over a full minute.

"Nice place you have," Hanji says walking through the small corridor which leads her from the front door to the living room. Despite her friend having a particularly boring taste in color, she does give him credit for putting together furniture and upholstery pretty well. His living home is decorated with a cream colored rug that almost feels like velvet when she steps on it, not to mention the two piece furniture set accompanied by a small wooden coffee table. This seemed like rather expensive stuff for a soldier to be able to afford with their meager pension.

It makes her wonder.

"What exactly are you doing nowadays?"

Hanji whisps around only to find that her short friend isn't standing behind her. "Levi?" she calls his name out. The brunette curious sticks her head out the door and finds Levi at her car, hauling her stuff out of the trunk. "Oh you poor thing!" she exclaims teasingly. "Here, let me help you!"

In turn, the raven haired man glares at her. "Shut up," he says hurling a duffel bag in her direction. Hanji catches it with ease and merely grins at his reaction. "I never said I was gonna help you," he continues, "although I was considering it. Too bad though, 'cause now you'll have to do it yourself."

The brunette smirks. "And if I don't?" she challenges. "What _shall_  the brave Captain Levi do then?"

"I'll shove a loofah up your ass," he deadpans. "And unlike how I was courteous enough to bathe you in a bathtub three years ago, I'll spray you with my neighbor's hose. I heard it's infested with algae and tadpoles and other shit."

"No problem," Hanji says waving off his so-called insult. "I'll just study the algae and the tadpoles with the Swift MT10-MCS microscope that I brought along with me. Oh!!! That reminds me, I need to make sure that my babies are safe."

The ravenette's eyes narrow as he continues staring at her, though it would now be safe to call it a glare. "No," he says inscrutably. "No damn pets in the house."

"Aw come on Levi!" the woman says tilting her head to the right. Truth be told, she looks like a kitten begging for food or a kid begging for a toy. "They're harmless! Besides, Hakuna and Matata are adorable and they won't make a mess. And even if they do, I promise to clean up after them."

"No."

Hanji sighs and looks down at the duffel bag in her hands. "Alright," she says feigning her innocence. "I guess I'll just go back to the hotel room I was in before. At least they'd let me keep my sweet little babies." She once again looks up at the man across from her and pouts. _This isn't working,_ she says to herself after a while. _Why isn't it working?!_

Levi clears his throat, a tiny smirk popping up on his face. "You done yet?" 

"Yeah," Hanji says giving up. "Who am I kidding. It was never gonna work anyway. Maybe it's the eyepatch, or maybe it's just me. I don't know about you, but most forty year olds don't look that cute, especially ones with eyepatches."

The ravenette scoffs. "Who gives a damn?" he says monotonously. Hanji raises a brow while trying her best to pick apart his words. With Levi's tediously unchanging voice, it's quite difficult for her to differentiate with whether or not he's serious or joking. Besides, she hasn't been around him for a full three years, it's gonna take her some time to once again get use to his way of speaking. "I just found a new nickname for you. Goodbye Four Eyes, hello Commander Eyepatch."

Oh, so there was a continuation to that question. Phew! He had her worried there for a second. Hanji starts laughing at his joke before taking a small Pikachu backpack out of the trunk, Levi slamming it shut soon after. "Wow Levi," she remarks. "Seems like you've amped up the humor in your poop jokes."

"You have no idea," he says as they walk up the small steps that lead up to his front door.

* * *

The delicate aroma of Earl Grey roams around the house. Normally, he wouldn't let anyone touch his antique tea set or his expensive tea leaves, but Hanji was an acception. She was the one who use to make tea for him after Petra died, and the gesture was touching even if the tea tasted shitty.

But holy shit, this aroma was completely different. Hanji did slowly improve at making him tea, but that was black tea she prepared back then. This is Earl Grey that she's preparing right now, a far more delicate tea that emits a beautiful and tantalizing aroma if brewed properly.

"Tea time!" the brunette chimes while placing the small tea set on the coffee table in front of him. "How much sugar do you want?"

"I don't want any," he replies. What's the point of putting sugar in tea anyway? All it does is take away the flavor and make the tea taste like boiled syrup. 

Hanji chuckles before pouring tea from the kettle into the cup. "Still the same, huh?" she asks handing it over to him. "Guess that some things never change." Levi raises a brow at her statement. What exactly does she mean by that? 

The bespectacled woman takes her oval glasses off and soon procedes to removing her eyepatch. There's a noticeable tear across her eyelid, the scar forcing her eye to remain closed at all times. Levi narrows his eyes as he sees her looking up towards the ceiling and anxiously rubbing her hands together to generate a comfortable heat. "Do you know what today is?" she finally asks.

The raven haired man forces himself to swallow a large amount of boiling liquid that scalds his throat. "It's Erwin's birthday," he answers. Hanji has her hands placed over her eyes now, her right hand furiously rubbing at her right eye. She has to stop now or it'll start bleeding, then it'll get infected, and then the infection will spread to the rest of her body and kill her just like it killed his mother.

"You know what sucks?" she asks looking up at him. The woman laughs at herself internally, her laugh filled with nothing but pity. She hates not being able to look into both his eyes simultaneously. Those charcoal eyes with the slightest tinge of ice blue that are cool, calm, and reassuring all at once. 

"What?" Levi asks unwaveringly. No matter how horrible their past memories of war are, they don't deserve this. They don't deserve to sit here and cry when they should be thanking Erwin and all those other soldiers for their goddamn sacrifice.

They should be commemorating all that, not grieving it.

"What sucks," she continues, "is that I can't even cry. The salt from the tears are bad for my eye and can do potential harm to the healing." She rubs her eyes once again. "Do you know how horrible that is? To be a woman and not be able to cry?"

He wish he could say that he does, but he can't lie to her. She has the gifted ability to look straight through him and read his stoic face. It's such a beautiful talent with so many horrifying outcomes. He can't reassure her anything. He can't pretend to be that heartless human either just to change the topic because _she knows._ She knows that he has a heart and she looks at him as a human before looking at him as her friend or humanity's strongest because _that's who he is._

That's who he is and she loves him for it.

Sure it's not the way most people would expect, but it's still love.

"I don't understand," he says at last. "But the truth is that I do miss him, and I understand what you feel like. He was like a brother to me who dug me out of the hell that was the Underground and placed me in a better place. It's Erwin who made me the soldier I am today and made me Humanity's Strongest."

She scoffs. "You're not Humanity's Strongest," she continues, "none of us are. None of us are unbreakable, we wouldn't be like this if we were. But ultimately, we survived and made it out of that hellish birdcage." The woman pulls her feet up on the couch and tugs her feet towards her chest. "But with the amount of people who died to help us get here, I can't help but feel as though our whole vision of humanity being free was a lie."

"Don't say it," Levi warns.

"Especially after Erwin died." That final statement is what makes them just sit there and stare at each other. Deep down, he knows that she's right. Erwin was their leader when it came to everything, and surely, he would know how to guide them through this new life in this new world. Without him, they both feel alone and…lost.

It's after a while that Hanji finally breaks their silence. "Forget it," she says quickly grabbing her eyepatch off the table. She struggles with tying the two ends together. Levi walks around the leather couch until he's behind her. His soft hand grip her course ones before gently pulling them away. "I can do it myself," she says boldly. At least that's what she thinks she sounds like. Her voice cracks midst the sentence and the rest comes out as something raspy and indecipherable. 

"Let me help you," he says softly. This is the more humane sign of him that he tries to keep locked away. Looking at his best friend right now, he knows that she needs this more than anything. This woman is anything but stable right now, and he knows this because he's felt the same way for the past three years. She's just brave enough to admit it.

Hanji bites her on her bottom lip and hands him the eyepatch, which he reaches out and places on the coffee table. "Go take a shower," he whispers while taking the rubber band off her greasy ponytail. She nods while pulling her navy colored cardigan closer to her body. Her head droops shamefully as she stands up, her longer strands of hair draping into a protective shield around the vulnerable look on her face.

"Hey Levi," she says turning around and facing him. The man looks her way and sees the brunette flash him a smile. "I don't know what I would do without you."

* * *

"Alright," a freshly bathed Hanji says as she steps into the living room. Levi smirks. Screw the eyepatch, she looked so damn adorable. The fact that she was wearing blue and white elephant printed pajamas weren't helping either. "Enough with the moping," she continues, "I think Erwin deserves a bit more happiness on his birthday, and that's exactly what we're gonna give him."

She slowly opens the Pikachu backpack from earlier and slowly places it on the hardwood floor. Two little creatures scurry out of the yellow bag and start climbing the coffee table that's placed meters away from where Levi's seated. "What the hell are those?" he says lifting his feet onto the couch. He'd never seen creatures like these, and knowing that Hanji had an admiration slash hatred for titans, god knows what _these_ creatures could do.

"They're sugar gliders!" she exclaims while picking the brown and black one. It had a small head paired with big ears and another pair of huge beady black eyes. Levi stares at the sugar glider in Hanji's hand as she walks over and picks up the white and black one trying it's best to climb up the leg of the coffee table. The brunette plops down next to Levi before handing him the brown and black one. Levi reluctantly holds his hand out in an attempt to pet the adorable creature, but ends up holding him since Hanji practically placed him on his lap. "His name's Hakuna," she continues, "and this one's Matata." She playfully lifts one of Matata's paws and waves it at Levi before nuzzling her face into the mammal's soft and fine fur coat.

The raven haired man lifts Hakuna up in front of him and inspects him from all angles. He finally convinces himself that the sugar glider isn't gonna jump on him and gauge his eyes out. "Not bad," he says while rubbing the furry mammal's back. 

"See," the bespectacled woman says boldly. "I told you nothing would happen. Besides, their sugar gliders, their poop is barely the size of a raisin. I'll clean up after them anyway, so you don't have to worry about there being feces around the house."

"Alright," he says. "Well it's almost ten. Do you want something to eat?"

"Nope," she answers. "I ate dinner after I got off the plane. I went to the Mini Mart after that just to pick up some groceries for the rest of the week. You go ahead and eat, I just wanna talk."

And with that, the two start talking—and occasionally bickering—about the interesting stories of their past. One of the more interesting stories Hanji shared with him was that she had discovered that a puppy named Tori had been dropped off at her clinic and how it had Swimmer's Syndrome, which is the inability to stand. Turns out that she and her assistant had worked with the owner to help the puppy get better. 

"She still needs help walking on linoleum floors," she says. "But she can walk on almost everything else. Tori's made a lot of progress in a seven month time span." Hanji looks up at him before biting down on her bottom lip. The question about what he does for a living is still lurking around in her head.

"So what do you do nowadays?" she asks.

Levi swallows his bite of pasta and clears his throat. "I'm living up to my dream," he answers. "I opened a tea shop not far away from here. Although it turns out that the people in this world have a lousy taste in beverages, which is why we added coffees and lattes on our menu too."

 _So what about all this expensive furniture?_ she asks in her head. No, it would be inappropriate to ask him a question like that, and he might think of her as some sort of materialistic person. The ravenette rises from his chair and places his plate in the sink before washing it with a bit of dish soap and a sponge. It feels different having someone around again, especially since that someone's Hanji Zoe. She's surprisingly not as hyper as she was before, and definitely not as scary. Although if anyone could be the perfect definition of not judging a book by it's cover, it would be her. 

"Do you have wine?" Hanji asks jolting him out of his thoughts. "Or any kind of alcohol for that matter?"

"I have red wine and some beer," he answers. "Why?"

The woman shakes her head before looking sheepishly down at her feet. "Nothing," she continues, "I just thought it would be a good idea if we could toast to Erwin, and possibly a few other fellow comrades."

The straight look on Levi's face softens as he places the clean dish in one of the kitchen drawers. "I think he would like that," he says, "I think they would all like that."

"Let's do it then!"

She hastily looks around the kitchen and pulls out two wine glasses along with an unopened bottle of red wine. "I did this every year," she says pouring a considerate amount of wine into each glass. "I just wasn't sure whether or not you wanted to join me in my weird custom."

Levi picks up his glass of wine and Hanji does the same. "I don't think it's weird," he continues, "it's comforting. It's also a sign of respect. They all died for us, they deserve this."

Hanji smiles. "To Erwin Smith," she says raising her glass in the air, Levi following her lead. "He was a brave man who gave up his beating heart for the sake of humanity. He was one of the bravest commanders in the Survey Corps, the ultimate reason behind why a part of humanity was let out of it's cage." They clink their glasses together and take a sip out of their drink, that is, until Levi starts to speak.

"To Hanji Zoe," he says raising his glass up in the air. Hanji gives him a warm smile and bites her lip. "She's a brave woman who led the Survey Corps to it's victory and is the reason behind why humanity is free today. Erwin could not have chosen a better person to take his position." A part of Hanji perks up at that. He called her _a_ _woman_. No one's ever called her a woman, or even considered her to be one. She's never cared about her hair or how flat chested she was compared to other women, but she's never let that affect her. However, actually hearing someone call her that was amazing, and as crazy as it sounds, she wants him to call her that again. They clink their glasses and take a sip out their drinks, Hanji once again volunteering to speak.

"To Levi Ackerman," she says gingerly. "He's a brave man who served wholeheartedly under Commander Hanji Zoe and made sure that she was in her presence of mind. He was there to make sure that everyone remaining in the Survey Corps was in their will to fight. He may not _literally_ be Humanity's Strongest, but he always is and shall be knows as the strongest man in my life and the lives of those on Paradis Island."

"To all our fallen comrades," Levi concludes after clinking his glass with her's over the previous toast. "They were all strong willed and willing to fight to the death. And fight to the death they did. If it weren't for them, none of us would be here right now."

They clink glasses one last time before drinking the remaining liquid. 

In the end, Hanji can't help but want for things to stay this way…forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally wasn't writing this in the middle of my Biology class. 
> 
> Sorry if it was a bit poorly written. I might go back and make edits if I have time (Which I probably won't since Hugh school sucks).
> 
> Anyways, leave comments in the comment section and tell me if there's something you guys want me to improve on. I love feedback on what I should keep doing and what I could improve on.
> 
> Next chapter should be out soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update. I had three tests this week and tests make up sixty percent of my grade in each of my classes. Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> A/N- Just a warning that this story is a slow burn fic

A package the size of a shoebox lays outside Levi's home the next morning. Hanji lifts the cardboard box and brings it closer to her face before inspecting the box from all angles. The brunette's curiosity cools down as she sees the scribbled handwriting is addressed to none other than the man making her ravenous stomach some breakfast.

"This was left outside," she says placing it on the granite countertop in the kitchen. "By the way, is it normal for there not to be a printed postage stamp on a package, because this one was just sent written by hand and with a tiny stamp that I barely noticed." Levi merely turns his head around and stares at the package on the counter. His name and address was written down by hand instead of a regular computer print.

"It's probably from Mikasa," he answers before turning his attention back towards the Farmer's omelet. The brunette's eyebrows raise into her hairline.

"Why would Mikasa send you a package?" she asks while scratching her head. Her curiosity was only normal. After all, didn't Levi say that he had no idea where the kids were all this time?

"We're both Ackermans," he answers before pulling open a cabinet and grabbing a plate. "I didn't really have anyone left in my family. To be honest, I didn't even know my last name, and I didn't really care either up until when I found out Kenny was my uncle." The ravenette sets the omelet on the plate neatly before decorating it with extra cheese and cut vegetables. "It actually felt nice to know that I was an Ackerman, at least I wasn't completed alone. Plus, Mikasa and I didn't really talk about all that family shit until after the final battle. She decided to keep in touch with me before leaving with Eren and Armin, that's all." Levi holds the plate out in front of Hanji, the dish's aroma being enough to make the starving woman salivate.

"So where are they now?" she asks before happily accepting the plate of eggs. She fits as much as she can onto her fork before opening her mouth wide and _practically swallowing it_ without chewing. Levi raises an eyebrow at her. He's known that she's had weird eating habits before, but this was just too much. Was this woman planning on choking herself?

"Slow down," he says monotonously as she continues scarfing down her food. This woman should start listening to him before she gets herself into some serious trou—

And then it happens.

Hanji breaks out into a coughing fit and throws both her hands on top of her mouth, the fork falling on the linoleum floor. "Water," she chokes out in a way that's barely audible. Levi hastily pulls out a glass before briskly filling it up with water. The brunette points towards the sink tap the whole time, desperate to pour some water down her throat.

"Here," he says bringing the glass of water up to her lips. She places her hands on his before tilting the glass upwards and emptying it's liquid content. Levi pats her back in a steady rhythm before rubbing gentle circles into it as she calms down. She stops pretty soon and takes a while to stare at her half eaten plate of food. The ruddy color her face took on due to the deprivation of oxygen is now gone and slowly coming back to it's natural cinnamon complexion. "You okay?" Levi asks with concern lacing his voice.

She nods but doesn't say anything, but it feels like hours pass by before she finally does. "Sorry," the woman says looking down shamefully at the marbled white and grey tiles. She's not use to eating good tasting food like this, she's never been able to afford it. She doesn't remember having something to eat from right out of the oven since she joined the Survey Corps. Even though the war is over, she's ended up right where she was before: A poor and angry woman with a mask of false happiness. As childish as it sounds, Hanji has a thing for keeping her personality hidden. She use to be like Eren in her Training Corps days and for a decent portion of her time in the Survey Corps itself. She bid that angry version of herself goodbye a few years before Levi joined the Corps. Truth be told, she was absolutely horrified at herself when she found herself dangling Pastor Nick off the wall. She was hoping to never see that old version of herself be resurrected.

The old Hanji felt like a disappointment, which wasn't too far off from reality. She had stolen money from her parents before running off with her angry teenage soul in an angry attempt to free herself and humanity from the grasp of those hideously vile creatures. She wanted to taste freedom, even if it was just a sliver for even the sake of a second. She's been watched by her parents like they were hawks circling their prey, and never has she gotten the freedom she deserved. No, instead she was barred inside a mansion and forced to study things she had absolutely no shitty interest in. At th age of thirteen, she was told to be more womanly by a nun because her voice was too low, and because she was wearing a pair of trousers.

And that's when Hanji Zoe's anger was provoked. An teenage girl that's been lit on fire with a desire for nothing but freedom and knowledge. The old Hanji Zoe held a grudge against anyone and everyone for taking away the childhood she could never get back. She was wrong. The old version of herself didn't feel like a disappointment, she _was_ a disappointment. 

And she still is now.

"You're apologizing for no shitty reason," the raven haired man says before grabbing the glass of water and rinsing it out with a decent amount of dish soap. "If you were hungry last night, you could've told me. I could've made you something warm and you wouldn't have had to starve yourself."

Hanji manages to fake a smile that's almost painful to keep up. "Nah," she says waving a hand at his words. "I seriously meant it when I said that I wasn't hungry last night. It's usually just mornings when I wake up with my stomach mimicking a whale's mating call." The bespectacled woman gets off the bar stool and picks up the fork that had fallen earlier. "Here," she says handing it over to him.

"Aren't you going to finish eating?" he asks eyeing her plate. Eggs were getting more expensive as the weeks past by, and to be honest, he'd rather not waste any food at all. But judging the fact that Hanji had just choked, he decided it was no big deal for her to give up a plate of half eaten eggs.

A painfully expensive plate of half eaten eggs.

"Yeah of course," she says before brushing away a strand of hair that had landed on her face earlier. A part of Levi softens at seeing her like this. Her normally dishelved appearance compliments the elephant printed pajamas she hasn't yet changed out of. The eyepatch only made her bedhead look more adorable and well…Hanji-like. The ravenette turns away after realizing that he had been admiring her innocence for a bit too long. 

"Here," he says passing her another fork. The brunette grabs it out of his hands and continues with her meal like nothing's happened, except she's a bit more careful this time. The pace at which she's eating her food is still _far_ too fast, but at least she's taking smaller bites. A sudden thought pops into Levi's head, one that starts eating his mind out within minutes of recognition. Levi use to be out on the streets in the Underground before he was recruited into the Survey Corps. He was skilled enough to steak and provide for himself and his fallen friends Farlan was the same as well. The first time he had offered her a piece of bread, she had consumed all of it within moments, and she hadn't eaten a decent meal in who knew how long?

Is it possible that Hanji's under financial duress?

 _Well,_ he thinks to himself, _the only way to find out is if I ask her._ "Be honest," he starts, "when was the last time you ate?" The brunette looks up with her mouth full and her face twisted in surprise.

"I told you," she says standing up from the bar stool. She picks up her empty plate with the fork in it and walks over to the kitchen sink before turning on the faucet and rinsing the plate. "I ate dinner yesterday," she finally answers. She grabs the sponge placed in a little metal basket near the kitchen window and pours a dab of soap on it before scrubbing the plate angrily. She's furious at the fact that he figured it out. He wasn't _suppose_ to figure it out. The last thing she wants from Levi Ackerman is pity.

"I don't believe you," he says while leaning against the fridge. "You're doing what a person with financial problems would do." He uncrosses the arms at his chest before walking up to her. "You can ask me for help if you want."

That just about does it for Hanji. She practically throws the plate on the counter next to the sink. Her long wet fingers angrily rake through her offensively messy hair. "No," she says firmly. "I don't need any of your help, and I definitely don't need any of your sympathy. Besides, I was the one who told people what you felt. Like it or not Levi, you don't know how I think or what I feel, and you won't understand me enough to ever know." The woman exhales heavily. He's done so much for her already. Back when they were soldiers, he would bathe her, feed her, put her to sleep and check up on her whenever he found the time to. 

She can't ask him for anything else.

"Alright," the raven haired man says before exiting the kitchen. "Well if you need something, let me know." 

And with that, he silently walks away. He knows what she's going through. Surviving in the Underground taught him never to beg or make himself look like a poor little boy. Surviving in a hell like that meant that people's so-called sympathy was nothing but euphemism for their damn pity.

And pity and sympathy are two _very_ different things.

* * *

It's mid afternoon when Hanji pops up in front of him with Hakuna and Matata in her hands, the two sugar gliders pawing against each other and fighting over the warmth of the brunette's chest. 

"I'm sorry for what happened earlier," she says handing him one of her little minions. The sugar glider's name was Hakuna if he remembers correctly. "I always give people Hakuna when I have to apologize to them," she says chuckling a her own remark. "That way, apologizing's a lot easier and looks a lot more adorable."

Levi's not angry, he just doesn't answer her. Instead his finger traces over the stripes on Hakuna's brown and black fur coat. The sugar glider nuzzles it's face into Levi's cotton shirt and closes it's eyes. "It's all right four eyes," he finally answers. The ravenette _immediately_ stops in his tracks realizing that he used a nickname that might once again trigger his best friend. His metallic grey eyes slowly veer over to Hanji and find her calmly stroking Matata's fur, the sugar glider slowly drifting off to sleep.

"It's okay," she says looking up at him. Her eye gleams with hope and the corner of her lips tilt upward into a smile. "We all slip up," she continues, "and I did too. I-I, uh, I hope you can forgive me for being so rude. It was selfish of me to say something like that when you've offered me a temporary place to settle down and a warm meal and bed. I-I'm so sorry for being a douche." Levi stares at the expression on her face and closely examines it. Her lips are tightly pursed together and her eyes blink in rapid succession as she leans closer towards him waiting to hear whether or not he's accepted her apology.

"You know I'm not mad, right?" he asks. 

Hanji smiles. "Yeah I know," she says looking down at Matata with a smile on her face. She looks back up at him and grins even wider. "I just had to make sure," she continues, "it's just that I haven't seen you in three years and it's taking me a while to get use to reading your thought process again." The bespectacled woman bites her bottom lip _hard,_ and for a second Levi thinks that her lips are going to start bleeding. "You know that I didn't mean it when I said that you don't know how I think or feel, right? Honestly, I don't know what my life would've been like if I hadn't met you. You took care of me back in those days and you were always there for me, even when you had to serve under me. I-I'm really sorry for coming out as an assho—"

Levi suddenly grabs her messy ponytail and pulls her face closer to his. "I think I see an abnormal," he says mimicking the other day when Hanji was too busy yammering off about titans.

The woman gives him a half smile. "Where?" she asks playing along.

"Right here," he replies. "Right now, you're unstable and you've gotta do nothing but chill. I have a weird neighbor here named Madame Lucifer and she's a beautician. People say she's evil incarnate because she pissed a girl off while doing her hair for a school dance. Apparently, the girl was some popular brat who was too demanding and broke Madame Lucifer's vase when she didn't agree to give her the hairstyle she wanted. Madame Lucifer got the perfect revenge by hacking off over half of the girl's hair."

"Cool," Hanji says in awe. "I should meet her sometime."

"She's right next door," he answers. "She's also some weird psychic with a reputation in this area. Anyways, whatever you do, stay away from that 'I can see the future' shit and don't name Madame angry. Don't do those two and you'll live."

"Great," Hanji says, "I'll go over to her place this evening and introduce myself. I need a woman to talk to in my life. Plus, I've always wanted to meet a psychic!"

Levi rolls his eyes at her exclamation. But oh well, at least she's getting adjusted. Levi's mind drifts back to the conversation he had with Hanji earlier.

And he wonders if it would be a nice idea to make her temporary stay in his house a permanent one. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanji tries to change up Levi's monotonous Sunday routine. A stroll through Levi's hiking trail and a bit of lovely Levihan bonding time.

It's Sunday morning and Levi could not be more lazy. The whole week was a drag for him and as much as he enjoyed Hanji's company, he needs a few moments filled with nothing but solace. The raven haired man sluggishly swings his feet off the queen mattress and stands on his feet. He walks over to the covered bay window and yanks the curtains, his eyes immediately reacting to the zealous beam of yellow light. 

The ravenette quickly uses hands to shield his eyes. He turns away from the window and examines his surroundings. His bedroom is nothing special. Just a four walled room painted a shade of grey so monotonous, it seemed to desperately need some sunlight to make him feel like the walls weren't closing in on him. He admires the color grey, though. It's neutral and plain, not too dark and not too light, perfectly in the middle.

His queen bed was a rather simple one with a complimenting grey comforter decorated with solid black and white stripes. The nightstand beside it was made of ebony, the lamp resting on top of it harboring a grey colored shade. To most people, and to Hanji for sure, this room would make them too tedious. But this is how he liked it. Simple and plain, a view not too different from his everyday routine.

Levi sighs before walking over to his closet which resided not too far away from the bay window. He grabs a simple pair of clothes. Just a cotton shirt and a pair of Adidas sweatpants, nothing too shabby. His jogging routine usually takes place in the evenings, but Sundays were when he changed things up. He could only think clearly on Sundays after an hour long jog or walk followed by a steaming hot shower.

Besides, he has a girlfriend to visit today. A man's gotta look his best for the sake of their special somebody, right?

The ravenette throws the shirt over his already shirtless body and pulls off the pair of sweats he was wearing last night. Hastily tugging on his workout clothes, he swiftly exits his bedroom and heads into the living room. There he's met with the sight of Hanji engrossed in a novel. He can't quite make out th book's name since her hand is covering half of it, but he recognizes the cover.

"Game of Thrones fan, huh?" he asks. The brunette gasps before looking up at him all wide eyed. She slightly folds the page she was reading and closes the book, gently setting it aside on the table in front of her.

"You scared me," she says with a chuckle. Levi examines her from top to bottom. Instead of wearing a pair of elephant printed pajamas, she's now in a pair of pink and yellow teddy bear printed ones. Her eyepatch is off and her oval glasses are slowly slipping down the bridge of her hawk like nose. And her hair. It's still in the messy state it was in the night before, except messier. 

"Sorry about that," he says before reaching under the coffee table and rummaging through the small compartmentalized section underneath it. He pulls out a cheap quality digital watch. Levi loves that coffee table. He swears that it's capable of storing more items than the coat closet next to the front door. 

"Where are you going?" she asks watching him grab a pair of socks. He doesn't answer her and continues putting on his socks which are soon followed by a pair of Nike sneakers. "Hello!" Hanji says practically demanding his attention. "Hanji here. Where are you going so early on a Sunday morning?"

"Cardio," he answers.

"Can I come with?" she asks. "I haven't really been working out lately."

Levi contemplates on whether or not he should let her tag along. The whole point of this was to get away from his normal routine and find and hour of peace. Hanji would just talk the whole time, and as much as he respects and adores her, he just wanted to go alone. But knowing him, his way of saying no would probably come out as offensive or rude. It's probably best to have her tag along. Besides, he doesn't necessarily trust Hanji to leave her at his home alone. God knows what she might do.

"Alright," he says with a huff. Hanji squeals before getting up from the couch and sprinting into her room.

"Be back in a flash!" she exclaims. Is it just him, or does Hanji's voice seem higher pitched today than it is usually? Levi shrugs at the thought before grabbing his house keys. He unlocks the door and leans his back onto it, impatiently waiting for the brunette to finish changing. _Is it still too late to say no?_ he ponders. Great, now he's gonna have company. At least she isn't bad company.

Within seconds, Hanji exits her room with a fresh pair of socks in hand. Her attire is nothing special, just a pair of grey sweatpants and an oversized shirt with the words _Animal Lover_ printed on it. She doesn't really strike him as the type who needs to work out.  She hastily tugs the pair of socks onto her tiny feet before shoving on her converse shoes as well. "Hakuna and Matata are asleep on my bed. Let's go," she says waiting for him to walk out first.

The two veterans walk for about fifteen minutes until they reach a trail with a tilted sign at the side reading  _L'automne Piste._ "What does that mean?" she asks curiously pointing towards the sign. She could easily tell that L'automne meant _The Autumn,_ but her mind still couldn't wrap around the meaning of _Piste._

"It means _The_   _Autumn Trail,"_ he answers. 

"But why autumn?" the brunette asks with interest. "There's also spring, summer, and winter."

Levi rolls his eyes at her peculiar questions. "They named this place after autumn because that's when people come here the most. Besides, the leaves turn into this ombré mix of red, orange, and yellow. You'll get a glimpse as we go in further."

"Cool!" Hanji exclaims. "You know, it feels so nice to be here. America was a bit too ordinary, especially the city where I lived, New York City. Sure there were a bunch of cool skyscrapers and other architectural views, but the people there were so rude. I had almost no friends and my roommate was stingy because I was an ex commander from the Corps. I had to attend medical school again in order to earn a degree in veterinary. I'm lucky I finished a year before everyone else." Levi looks over at her curiously. She had mentioned before that she was a veterinarian, but that statement completely contradicts her financial problems. Aren't veterinarians suppose to make more money than the average person? How come she's so poor?

"If you don't mind me asking," he continues, "how come you're not getting any financial benefits from your job? I mean, veterinarians are suppose to be rich."

"They are," Hanji replies, "but I still haven't gotten my board certification yet. Plus, I need to volunteer at a residency program for about another year. They won't let me go into the field without some decent experience. For the past three years, I was working at a strip club as a bar tender, I repeat _bar tender._  The only other minimum wage job available was the one at McDonald's and that wasn't enough to pay my rents and everything. After the war, I was homeless for about half a year before I actually had the courage to get back on my feet."

The raven haired man looks over at her with a mildly pitiful expression. Hanji doesn't bother looking at his face. She already knows that seeing that sympathetic expression on his face will trigger her and set her off like it did the day before. "Why didn't you tell me before?" he asks. His voice seems weak compared to the rustling of the crisp autumn leaves lying under their feet. He hadn't expected the past three years of her life to be so difficult. "You're a war hero," he continues, "you deserve to be treated with respect."

The brunette scoffs. "War hero?" she asks sarcastically. "Respect?" She turns over and looks at him with her face twisted up into a dour expression. "The people in this world don't care about war unless they've lived through it and seen it kill the people closest to them. I'm an Eldian and they hated me, they still hate me now. And when they found out that I was the fourteenth commander of the Survey Corps, they just shunned me away or beat me up. Heck! People don't even care about the war heroes in their own countries, so why should they care about me?"

The ravenette's stoic expression softens. "My life wasn't too far off from yours after the war," he starts, "I had a load of financial troubles and barely had the money to buy a loaf of bread."

"What did you do?" the bespectacled woman asks. Whatever he did must've worked since he was clearly free of anything that would dent his finances. Who knows? Maybe it'll work for her too.

"I went underground," he answers. "The government denied me the shitty pension and well, I was pissed off my ass. I went to a bunch of job interviews and got rejected to the point where the only option I had left was going back to my old life. I promised myself that it was only temporary, and it was, but I wasn't too fond of the stealing. Then one night, I pummeled the living hell out of this guy to the point where he was almost dead, so I decided to quit. I took a loan from the gang leader and decided to open up my tea and coffee shop, _The Legion._ Here I am now, paying off a shitty loan from a shitty person. Can't say I'm thankful for what I did in the past three years of my life, I only did it to survive."

Levi looks away from her and down at his feet. His attention is solely on his Nike sneakers and how they crush the beautiful autumn leaves he steps on. He looks over at Hanji's direction to find that she isn't there anymore. "Hanji?" he asks. The ravenette frantically searches his surroundings before turning around and finding the woman on her phone. "Oi!" he exclaims before running back towards her. "You had me worried for a second, I thought you had wandered off." Hanji merely ignores him and stares at the beautiful scenery around them. 

"Wow," the brunette says taking it in. They're surrounded by large trees accessorized with decorative warm ombrés. The colors were absolutely beautiful. A combination of red orange and yellow delicately blended onto one leaf, each seeming like a unique and accidental piece of art that was beautiful nonetheless. The scenery at New York City and Paradis Island was nothing compared to this. A gust of wind blew passed them and blew some of her coffee colored hair onto her face. A rain of leaves pirouette down on them, each swaying around as they hit the ground. 

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Levi asks observing her face. Hanji merely smiles before veering her eyes down at him. The skeletal trees surrounding them, the shower of somber leaves, and the two friends. The corpse of what use to be summer scatters around them, and for a second they forget about everything. They forget about the beauty of death, and how it was just the beginning to something new, something bigger and better, and how everything would eventually die as autumn passed by and dropped winter off.

Hanji eventually snaps out of her daze. Her smile widens as she slowly snakes her arms around his torso and pulls him closer. "I'm glad you're alive," she says constricting herself around him. Coming here, being around her best friend, it's all opened her eyes. Autumn is just the beginning of a beautiful ending, one that completely contradicts the one they went through. But alas, everything must die in the terrifying cold of winter, and she prays it won't be them. She prays that the pressure of this new world won't be enough to kill them like a plant that only bloomed for a year. She hopes this platonic beauty they have for each other will be enough to keep them alive as though they're perennials, quiet and conservative during the dead of winter, only to bloom once again during the life giving spring.

Alas, she hopes that he's her chance at a new beginning.

* * *

Their jog was a long one ranging from six to seven miles there and back. Hanji hasn't run like this since before the titans were eradicated. 

"That was something," the bespectacled woman says before sitting down on the sidewalk in exhaustion. She stretches out her feet before sitting down cross legged. "I haven't run like that in a while. Plus, the scenery was beautiful. I can't believe I was in New York City when I could've experienced this for three years instead." She unfolds her legs and jumps up onto her feet. "Let's go meet your neighbor," she says nudging the ravenette's shoulder.

"What?"

"Let's go meet your neighbor," she repeats. "You know, the one who's half beautician and half psychic. I want her to give me a reading."

Levi rolls his eyes. "Come on Hanji," he reasons. "Why the hell do you want a reading? It's shitty and it's a waste of money."

"Money," she answers.

"Huh?"

"I need to know how my financial life will be in the future."

"But you're a woman of science, you don't believe in magic or that shit, so why bother. Besides, I'm standing right here and I'm willing to give you a reading on your future financial life."

Hanji looks at him with amusement gleaming in her eye. "Alright wise one," she says. Her voice is practically dripping with sarcasm. "Tell me what future my money and I hold." She wiggles her eyebrows up and down, waiting for him to answer. She then holds her hands out towards him with her palms flat and facing upwards.

"Well Commander Eyepatch," he says before grasping her warm hands in his cold ones, "it seems as though you'll be moving in with someone very soon, that someone being an old friend of yours." Hanji withdraws her hands from his grasp and places them into the pocket of her sweatpants. His own hands feel cold as soon as they loose contact with her warm ones. The ravenette reluctantly folds his arms to his chest, hoping to keep warm. The autumn breeze was getting stronger with every passing day. Damn it. Well, now he can say goodbye to strolls and jogs after another week or two.

"I-I can't do that," she says shaking her head rapidly. "I don't want to bother you. Besides, I don't want you paying for my stuff either."

Levi smirks. "I never said I was gonna pay for your stuff," he answers. "You can stay with me, we'll just cut all the expenses in half. You pay the rent for one month and I pay it the next. You can even pitch in on the groceries if it eases your soul up."

The brunette contemplates over the deal. It honestly wasn't that bad. She wouldn't be stuck paying for everything and her best friend would be her roommate. If that doesn't ease her up, she doesn't know what will. "Deal," Hanji says boldly. Levi holds his hand out for her to accept, but Hanji merely brushes the gesture aside and pounces on him, engulfing his cold body in her's. Surprisingly, she's still warm. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" she exclaims. Her asphyxiating embrace grows tighter by the minute.

"Oi!" he says trying to push her away. "Don't kill me. If you do, then no one'll be there to pay the other half of the expenses." Hanji immediately pulls away from him and ruffles his silky raven hair. Her hand moves down towards the shaven part of his undercut. The raven haired man closes his eyes in comfort. Usually, Levi would freak out if someone crossed his personal space bubble and entered into his territory, but this was different. The sensation felt _so_ good, and he wasn't use to this kind of treatment. He supposes that Hanji had experience with this kind of stuff or better yet, she just knew what he liked. 

"It's getting cold," she says. She withdraws her hand from the gesture and places back into her pocket. "Let's go home and have some tea. Maybe we can even binge watch a few of the latest _Game of Thrones_ episodes."

"I would like that," he answers with the corners of his lips twitching. They desperately want to tilt upwards, but he forces them to stay down.

Levi and Hanji spend the rest of the day together, well most of the day. The ravenette bids her goodbye for three whole hours in order to go on a date with his girlfriend, Patricia. The brunette couldn't be anything more than bored out of her mind, so she deliriously sits on the couch and enjoys another seven or eight chapters of her book. 

At the end of the day though, they're back where they belong, together in the safe haven that is their home.

**Author's Note:**

> New fanfic, new chance to redeem myself over the fact that I never finished my old one on this website.


End file.
